Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a protocol structure and packet segmentation and NACK information feedback mechanism for efficient data transmission in a mobile communication in which a terminal receives data on the multiple carriers from multiple base stations. The present invention proposes a protocol structure for a mobile communication system supporting inter-eNB carrier aggregation and packet segmentation and efficient NACK information feedback method appropriate for the protocol structure.
Description of the Related Art
Mobile communication systems have developed to provide the subscribers with voice communication services on the move. With the advance of technologies, the mobile communication systems have been evolved to support high speed data communication services as well as the standard voice communication services. Recently, as one of the next generation mobile communication system, Long Term Evolution-Advanced (LTE-A) is under standardization by 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP). LTE-A is a high speed packet-based communication technology aiming at the data rate of up to 100 Mbps higher than that of the current technology.
As the LTE-A standard is evolving, various novel techniques are adopted to increase the packet transmission speed of a UE using multiple downlink or uplink channels. Such a technique is advantageous in maximizing the packet transmission speed per UE and referred to as Carrier Aggregation (CA). An eNB is capable of allocating multiple channels to serve a single UE, and the UE is capable of being served by multiple eNBs located at different positions. In the case that at least two eNBs are involved in the CA, this is referred to as inter-eNB CA.